Cardiff City must capitalise on bullish Sunderland AFC, Regis Le Bris transfer stance in January | OneFootball

Cardiff City should be looking to raid a divisional rival next month

There's little getting away from the importance of the upcoming January transfer window for Cardiff City as they look to fend off the all-too-eerie threat of relegation to League One, and they should really be looking to capitalise upon a decision poised to be made by Sunderland.

Much work is likely to be required in January, as yet more squad surgery feels necessary on a side which was, in retrospect, poorly constructed during an underwhelming summer window. While Cardiff added relative big-names in ex-Aston Villa duo Callum Chambers and Anwar El Ghazi, and there is reason to be excited about the likes of Alex Robertson, Jesper Daland and even Chris Willock, they fell drastically short of addressing the perennial issues which have plagued this squad for a number of years - pace, goals and creativity.

That's exactly why Cardiff's attack has been toothless and the lack of forward structure and strategy has appeared non-existent for the most part of the season. The failures of the summer shine through in Cardiff's league position, though, and they're currently all the way down in 21st place with a one-point advantage over Portsmouth in 22nd, who have a game in hand, having failed to win any of their last seven games after a strong start under Omer Riza.

Cardiff can ill-afford to succumb to relegation, meaning January represents a crucial month for Vincent Tan to supplement the backing and Riza himself to get it right in the window. As aforementioned, this side sorely lacks creativity and the distinct lack of attacking fluidity could be aided by acquiring Sunderland misfit Adil Aouchiche.

Sunderland, Regis Le Bris' Adil Aouchiche transfer stance

Any potential pursuit for Aouchiche will be helped by the fact he's massively out of favour right now at Sunderland, who are in the running for promotion under Regis Le Bris.

Le Bris hasn't favoured his fellow countryman, however, handing him just three appearances and 29 minutes of Championship football at the time of writing.

Aouchiche, who was earmarked as a prodigious talent while with Paris Saint-Germain and France's youth sides, joined Sunderland in a hotly-anticipated move from Lorient - Le Bris' former side - last September. He made 28 appearances and 10 starts for the Black Cats last season, scoring two goals and laying on two assists - one each of which came in a 2-0 win at Cardiff towards the back-end of the campaign.

But he hasn't been afforded the opportunity to kick on and contribute to the promotion-chasing side under Le Bris, who recently hinted at a potential January exit for the 22-year-old. When quizzed by the Northern Echo on the future of Aouchiche alongside Abdoullah Ba and Nazariy Rusyn ahead of Sunderland's match against Bristol City, Le Bris said: "There are players who haven’t really been involved who could maybe leave in January.

"If you don’t have the opportunity to play, and you have an option with another club that is good for your development, then sometimes that is a good option to take and move on."

Aouchiche actually appeared from the bench to provide the assist for Patrick Roberts' 93rd-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw with the Robins, which had led to suggestions of increased opportunities following a two-month injury setback in the same game to Tommy Watson - who has joined the likes of Romaine Mundle and Ian Poveda on the treatment table.

However, Aouchiche was left as an unused substitute yet again as Sunderland claimed a 3-2 comeback victory over Swansea City over the weekend, resurfacing doubt over his future on Wearside with the January window looming.

Sunderland outcast Adil Aouchiche would be a good January signing for Cardiff City

Aouchiche perhaps shouldn't be judged too harshly for his struggles at the Stadium of Light, having been overlooked by Le Bris while they were at Lorient together. He grew a real reputation for himself over in France before that, though, and was once regarded among the country's most promising young players.

Most at home in the number 10 role, Aouchiche is naturally creative and has a strong technical profile but also brings positional flexibility to the table, as he can be deployed deeper in midfield or even out wide.

Aouchiche is creative in possession and can unlock defences with his inventive forward passing behind the lines, and his ball-carrying qualities are also impressive as he is blessed with the natural agility and close control to evade opposition challenges with ease. He possesses an exciting and malleable footballing profile, which also happens to tick many of the boxes for the Bluebirds.

Currently, Cardiff's only out-and-out attacking midfielder is Rubin Colwill. The 22-year-old is a supreme talent - quite arguably the finest at the club on his day - but inconsistency has begun to seep in and Colwill, along with the majority of the side it must be said, has dropped off as of late.

It's far too early to think about replacing Colwill, of course, and many supporters will argue with a strong case that Cardiff should be building the team around the City academy product.

But in order to get the best out of him, he needs to be out of the firing line on occassion and needs competition too, which would be provided by Aouchiche.

Aouchiche is the type of player who can be inconsitent himself but is more than capable of providing match-winning moments with sprinklings of real star quality, which Cardiff could certainly do with. He's not the finished article and question marks do remain, but there's little doubting Aouchiche's talent and given it's likely he will be made available for either a loan or permanent transfer, the Bluebirds could do considerably worse.